MotoGP: Catalunya GP qualifying report.

Jorge Lorenzo took pole position at home in Montmelo for the Catalan MotoGP, his first for Ducati!

Q1 started with a surprising name in the session, as Marc Marquez had to come through after only being 12th in the free practice sessions. Two other names who maybe didn’t belong were Alex Rins and Jack Miller, both would look to make Marquez’s pain worse by preventing him getting into Q2.

Xavier Simeon was unlucky to crash his Avintia Ducati in the opening lap, ruining his chances of progression, as the top two in the opening gambit were Marquez and Miller, the newest KTM recruit Hafizh Syahrin was on the bubble. The test riders for KTM and Suzuki respectively, Mika Kallio and Sylvain Guintoli, sat 8th and 13th. As we came to the end of the session Nakagami would displace Miller for second place to go through to Q2 alongside Marquez, as Kallio took a tumble.

Q2 started with the fastest man from the free practice sessions, Jorge Lorenzo, going out last. He would be fastest in the opening laps ahead of fellow Spaniard Maverick Vinales. Marquez would soon assume the pole with the fastest lap of the entire weekend shortly afterwards however, as Johann Zarco ran off track. Valentino Rossi would follow Marquez up the leaderboard to second place.

With two minutes to go, the session exploded, with red markers everywhere on the timing screens. Dovizioso would go to the front row, as as Lorenzo took the pole back from Marquez, with the fastest ever lap of the track. Cal Crutchlow would dash British hopes as he crashed on the final corner, while on schedule for a top five place.